Alone in Darkness
by opheliapain19
Summary: Max is fed up with Logans constant missions and the two split. Only after a scary encounter w Ames White does Max find herself needing help from 'Eyes Only'. Finding that her brother Zach is in trouble, Max and Alec go to save him, w romance on the side
1. Black and Blue

Max walked into Jam Pony with her big winter jacket on, hood covering the bruises all over her face from last nights rough fight for what Logan insists is for the good of many. Why and how does he expect her to be this savior to so many people? It was a nice thought but unlikely. Plus she was sick of him 'just figuring' she'll do it for him, what with being transgenic and all. It wasn't like she didn't owe him the favors, she knew she did; it was the aches she incurs shortly after helping him out that ruins the flavor of the good deed.   
  
"Max! Nice of you to show!" Normal shouted across the room, where everybody within 20 feet could hear him loud and clear. Her head throbbed by the pitch of his voice and made her wince.  
  
"Thanks, I know." she replied less hostile than most mornings and headed for her locker, adding alittle more attitude to her stride. Only she knew the pain she was in today so getting away with it would be easy as cake. Sketchy and the new bike messanger girl, Lea, were discussing how much drink is enough to get one legally 'drunk'. She would have liked to interrupt them with a snide comment but the strain she put on her lips made her dizzy. O.C. came up to the locker row and sat down next to her while Max moved the hood alittle further over her face. O.C. saw her face in the shadows and leaned in to get a closer look.  
  
"Ouch, Boo, another heroic night?" Max yanked the hood off her face alittle and sighed. If Logan loved her so much, why did he continually send her on missions that could get her killed? Max loved Logan but sometimes she just did not understand his concept of showing his own.  
  
"More and more guys gettin' tougher out there these days, like they're all hopped up on Super pills or somethin'..."   
  
"Why do you do this to yourself?" Max sagged her head deeper towards her lap and stood up. Right behind her stood Alec and he was looking at her with a wide eyed expression. Truth be told, he almost seemed to care, more than just the normal clever 'told ya so' today.   
  
"Wow, Max, what happened to you?" Max stifled back a rude remark and tried seriousness for once. Being ignorant anyway would never prove herself better than him, like she knew she was.  
  
"Bad fight. What can I say, sometimes I'm not always super girl."   
  
"Hard to believe for an X-5,..." he said, not believing her, "Who were they?" Max heard Normal grumbling again in the background and explaining how badly she got her butt kicked last night was not what she wanted. She began to walk away on him.  
  
"Max-" he called out, sounding strangely desperate. O.C. raised her eyebrow as Max turned around, signalling to Max that even she sensed a difference in the boy.  
  
"What?" she answered him, pulling the hood back over. His eyes were glazed over. He had a look on his face like he was standing in front of a live television audience in his underwear. Max would have waited for his response but it didn't seem to be coming any time soon. She continued on her way towards the desk to recieve a package. Alec followed her and grabbed a package too.  
  
"This have anything to do with Ames White?" Alec said worriedly. Max's throat swelled up with just that name. Lydecker used to make her skin crawl; still does, but Ames White was the type of evil you only imagined in nightmares.   
  
"Logan had a lead on where the papers for the cure might be and a couple of his gene friends were there. How'd you know?" Alec's eyes traced his surroundings. He was so used to having check for enemies. Max remembered that feeling up until Lydecker turned up missing. Then all so suddenly, things were safe. Her brothers and sisters, they were all gonna be okay. The cautiousness ended. Same thing happened with White. But now he doesn't know where she is and she's been breathing a tad bit easier ever since. It only ever took a small scare to get her nerves going though. Alec was different though. He never had a Lydecker. But Ames had his number on speed dial; Alec knew that.   
  
"Who else could have beat the crap out of you?" Alec said, no grin but definatly with a sarcastic tone. Max picked back up her tough girl attitude.  
  
"Nobody..." Alec nodded then added, "So what were they doing there, confiscating Manticore materials?" Max had been wondering all night about that. The only satisfying conclusion was that there was some kind of glitch in thier gene codes and they needed some help. But they've been around for billions of years apparently. Why would they need any help? Haven't they had enough time to fix all the glitches? Alec wasn't sure it was that either when she told him. But he reminded her to be careful.  
  
"Alec, are you actually worried for me?" Max replied snidely, "I find that hard to believe." Alec was quiet far into Sector 9, which was unusual. He could never keep quiet that long.  
  
"Ok, so you are worried for me. But why? I can take care of myself."   
  
"You mean, you have Logan to bail you out." Max shook herself but knew she shouldn't be surprised by his forthwrightness. Alec had confidence in speaking his mind. Max just had a way with words. Speaking up when it really mattered shattered her confidence in seconds. Maybe thats why all she ever could do was argue. Argue when all she really wanted was to speak.  
  
"Excuse me? I don't need Logan to bail me out."   
  
"How about what happened at Harbor Lights?"   
  
"Total coincendence. I could've gotten out of there myself if I really had to."  
  
"But you didn't. You relied on Logan."   
  
"What are you suggesting, Alec?" Max was taking offense now. Alec had never gotten into an argument like this with her before.  
  
"Maybe the reason you keep getting into trouble is because of Logan, all those mercy missions he sends you on."   
  
"He doesn't send me. He asks. And I resent you saying I am like, his puppet."   
  
"But you are, Max. You are Logan's puppet!" He was raising his voice now.   
  
"Alec just because you feel your life has no purpose doesn't make it right to stomp all over mine."   
  
"Have you seen your face? Do you see how your love-"  
  
"Love? Who ever said I loved him?"  
  
"Puhlease..."  
  
"Alec, aren't you out of your sector for that package? Leave me alone."   
  
"Admit it, Max. Your love for Logan is gonna kill you someday."   
  
"This isn't 'Penny for your thoughts' day, Alec. I said, leave me alone."   
  
What was her problem? She loved Logan. She knew the missions her sends her on were always dangerous. How come she could not admit it to Alec? How come the way he looked at her made the skin up her spine tingle? She couldn't care right now, she had a job to finish. Last night Logan asked her to come over for dinner. She loved the food he made her and she had been looking forward to it all day. But now, since the argument with Alec, her mind was in a totally different place. She could no longer find enjoyment in today. He had ruined it for her, the jerk. Like usual.... 


	2. Fed Up

It was around midnight that Max showed up, knocking on Logans door, a thousand reasons to leave before he answered bouncing back and forth in her head. She heard his footsteps as a smile of approval slid across her face. She hadn't been so pleased by annoying Logan in a long time, completly forgetting how good it felt. The door swept open as Max strolled in, four hours late.  
  
"Nice of you to show up." Logan commented standing beside the door in pajama pants and a navy blue wifebeater. Max would have normally taken pleasure in eyeing wantingly the handsome curves and muscles that fitted that wifebeater but wasn't interested tonight. Tonight she was going to just come off as rude, ignorant and use the worst kind of shameless sarcasm she hadn't used with him in a long time. Every instinct told Max this would be fun, despite the surmounting cons against her.  
  
"Yeah, well, I was in the nieghborhood."  
  
"I've been waiting four hours." he added, his brows deepening around his eyes in that 'I'm so confused you are being so rude' look. But that was just like Logan Cale, to use a girl and not even realize it. Maybe she had given some thought to this before and maybe she had just ignored it simply because she was in love with him. But the man she stood in front of now seemed so far from the man she fell in love with and she deserved something more than just a meal every once in awhile for being a 'good li'l X-5'.  
  
"Seems to be alot of waiting going on these days." her eyebrow lifted in reaction to his, "You notice?" Max could only associate Logan's finally stop using her to this comment and even then it was out of place. Max wasn't mad about waiting, she was pretty patient when things weren't going her way. She figured if she was going to get a good fighting reaction from Logan to satisfy her need for argument she'd have to use non-chalant comments and loose logic.  
  
"Are you mad at me about something?" It was so sad how pathetic he could sound without even knowing it. That was possibly his only weakness, since being super-anonymous crime-fighter wasn't exactly shabby and his being wealthy didn't make him less likable to most people. Only Max wasn't impressed anymore.   
  
"No, Logan, just fed up." Max finally spoke up, losing her sarcasm for dry seriousness. The tension filled up the space between them so fast that Max felt her mind twinge. Unbreakable though, she waited for some kind of reaction.   
  
"You mean the virus?" he asked, still frazzled, searching for what was on her mind. Funny I didn't figure this out earlier, Max thought as she stood brickwalling him from getting out of the conversation, but Logan never actually could understand me. It shocked Max how quickly another name filled his place in her mind, who fulfilled that spot. Max's eyes closed, blocking it out. Alec?  
  
"No, not the virus. Us, Logan."  
  
"What do you mean, Max? Whats this all about? Yesterday things were going great and now you show up four hours late to talk over some business, raving mad at me!"  
  
"Now we're getting somewhere," Max said with an over-acted sigh, "Business."   
  
"You mean, you don't want to help me anymore?"  
  
"Thats right."  
  
"Max, I need you." The opening was there, all ready for the taking. All she had to do was say it but nothing. 'But I don't-need-you,' was all the words she needed to walk out of there, shaking the dust off. But then she looked around, feeling overwhelmingly hurt that this was where things would end, that all this time they had spent together would all just fade into more sad memories like Manticore, and she couldn't do it. Things weren't like they should be but Max didn't have the guts to fix them. She had meditated far too much on Alec's theory, that Logan used her, without ever testing to see if it was right. Max was never obligated to Logan in the first place and he might not even care if she didn't help anymore. Maybe this would be the test, to prove whether the love Logan professed for her was true.   
  
"But I don't need this," Max said with a deep resurfacing sigh as all the anger turned into just one failed attempt at feminine persuasion, "I hope you can understand that." The chill in air got colder as Logan threw his hands up in the air, gasping at her decision.  
  
"I don't know why your doing this, Max, but it just makes no sense!" The chords in Max's mouth tightened, her tongue went dry and her eyes fell complacent upon the tiled floor of Logans' entryway. Frightened this was her answer, Max drew some air quietly down her throat and coughed lightly as Logan turned to face her.  
  
"Goodbye Logan," speaking softly the words she wasn't sure she'd ever say again so surely, "and sorry." Leaving the door open for him to shut, Max took one final look at the elevator button for the first floor and pressed it. It felt like the last time she'd ever press it again. 


	3. Reminiscing

Back at the apartment, everything looked so different and not just looked, but felt. As Max flipped the light on and dropped her motorcycles keys in the kitchen drawer, she felt overwhelmingly alone. Orignal Cindy had moved out into an apartment of her own but before this night, it never bothered her. The quiet was nice, all considering the consistent humming of the downstairs radiators that the super wouldn't fix and the sound of next door neighbor Bob-Something's 24/7 television marathon. But now Logan was finally out of her life or at least until he wants to make up, calling her every 30 minutes til she confesses how much she kind of does miss him. Somehow, after what had occured at his penthouse, Max didn't miss him per say. She missed that night she came back from Manticore, when there was no knoweledge of the virus and there was no knoweledge of an Ames White, only consciousness of him grabbing her so tightly, so desperatly and crying as he kissed her, hoping that she weren't a mirage. Now, a year past, she was just a transparent transgenic able to perform menial acts of heriocs in a small attempt at pleasing the man she called her lover. But there was no love, she asked herself as she lit up the stove, was there? Hard to tell when memories are what they are, just figments of an imagination under the spell of emotions and feelings, all wrapped up. Max filled the pot to the brim with water and placed it on the stove. It was nice having a place that had running water for the bathroom though, Max agreed upon the facade with Logan. Never thought thats all I'd end up feeling good about, she mumbled coldly as the steam rose upon her face, but things are never what they seem, I guess. The thing that sickened her right now was admitting to Alec that all the while he had guessed right, that Logan had used her as his puppet and that eventually, the blind affinity she held for him would have gotten her killed. If he found out how right he was, she'd never live it down. So the answer was clear. She must never let Alec know that thats why they broke up; no, she wouldn't even tell him until she was good and ready. So that meant only one thing, Max conjured cleverly in her mind, I'll have to pretend to be Logan's girlfriend for just a month or so and then I will tell him we split. The plan was full-proof.   
  
Max boiled five more pots of water and sat by the tub as they cooled down, letting the moisture from the steamy water create sweaty beads on her face. It felt good in the fall weather, with her bathroom window open to let in a cold breeze. Dropping the towel down to her ankles, Max let the fog create a mist around her, surrounding every part of her body. She closed her eyes. Things were going to be different again, right after she had just fit into the normal life of being Logans girlfriend and having a somewhat noble job of helping the insipid race of human beings so unaware of the evil lurking around each darkened corner. It may have been selfish to pull away from the job of savior, but there was nothing wrong in her eyes, in anyone normals eyes, in leaving when her life was at stake. It frightened her how much Logan appeared to not care. How could Alec have noticed and not her? Was she really that blind? As soon as she ready to tell him that Logan and her were over, she'd have to muster up an apology then thank the guy.   
  
As she felt the water cool, Max got in, gasping at the air for some breaths. As she got down in it, the need to breathe deepened, taking Max awhile to adjust to the humidity and pressure of the water on her body. Reaching to her right, Max grabbed a bottle of generic bubble bath and dumped it in the water. It smelled like raspberrys and lilac but the scent on the bottle said Strawberry. It smelled like heaven compared to Logans' cologne she had stuck in her nose, making her taste its bittersweetness everytime she inhaled. She remembered how she would lay atop his chest and how the scent would lull her to sleep. How everytime any guy walked by wearing that scent turned her head, sending Max's instincts haywire, having to call him up just to say 'hey'. Max inhaled lightly, taking in about five minutes of air and slid under water. As she let the air out slowly, the bubbles tickled her face. Thoughts were running in her mind but without flow. Logans' face, Alecs' words, her job at Jam Pony and the danger she was in the night before. Where was the enjoyment she was supposed to feel after telling Logan things were done? Was this the right thing to do? Enough thinking, Max groaned, my water will get cold before I have time to enojy it. 


	4. My Enemies

Sun burst into her room quickly that morning after the shades dropped to the floor near midnight and she had been so relaxed she didn't notice. Resting by the window in her futon, the light hit her eyes like an enemies flashlight. Within seconds, Max was awake and on her feet, ready to fight. After doing a short search, she realized in her embarrassment the real enemy had been the one thing she could look forward to every day. I bet no one else wakes up like this, said Max as she fell back into her chair and ran her fingers through her soft chesnut colored hair. Like most mornings, Max had drifting thoughts on what Logan was doing today or if maybe he was still sleeping at the moment. Could she have woken up and been able to look into the crisp look of cheer on his face had she not finally decided upon leaving him? It wasn't good to think that way anymore, she decided and shunned the thought from her mind. Another thought slid into his place. I wonder who Alec is with now, Max asked herself, then scoffed aloud. What do I care, she continued thinking as she slouched back, that boy is a runaway train.   
  
Getting up, Max fixed herself a small breakfast of buttered toast and a glass of milk to start her day. She'd have to be ready in fifteen minutes for work and being hungry made her grumpy, a mood she so wanted to perish from her for the day. Normal was probably ticked from yesterday's sarcasm spree and not interested in hearing a second round. What did Max care about Normal's feelings though, he certainly didn't care about hers. Or anyone elses for that matter, that is, except for his golden boy, Alec. How grotesque is it to see Normals' daily Alec worship? Tons. But Max couldn't complain too much. Someone had to feed that ego of his and it certainly wasn't going to come from her. No, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of showing interest. Max bit her lip, quickly realizing how it was starting to bleed. He was hot though and besides his obvious lack of tact, he was generous and, in his own way, sort of sweet. If he didn't feel like he had the need to be rude to her, she may even grow to like the guy alittle bit. Close after slipping a shirt over her head, Max's beeper went off. She left the bedroom and picked it off the counter in the kitchen. Logan was trying to get ahold of her. The cell phone he bought her was buzzing on the end table by the futon, hopping itself to the floor. Max decided, against her will, to not answer either. Curious though, she took a look at the text he sent her.   
  
'Max call me. U R in trouble.'  
  
Maybe this is a ploy to get her to talk to him, Max asked, hesitating to believe its authenticity. Besides, how could she be in trouble? Max decided to take the text messages advice, grabbed her work pack and opened the door to her apartment. The hallway was clear; no trouble here. Locking it behind her, she heard a muffled scream come from the apartment below. Max's eyes widened, realizing Logan hadn't lied. Banging came up the stairwell. Max's legs burned as she ran to the end of the hallway, hiding behind a busted up bookshelf in the corner. Two men with guns marched into sight, muscular and wearing combat clothing. Could be military but just about any bad guys these days look professional. Some kind of new criminal dress code or something, to confuse their victims. The men were followed by none other than old Ames White himself. The nerves in Max's spine tingled as she heard him tell the men to break the door down. There was a sense of safety in knowing she kept everything that could identify her hidden in a lockbox that she placed inside the wall, only accessible by a loose board only she could find. Max watched as they raided her apartment, praying for them to not find anything. But one question was definatly needing answering: How did Logan know Ames was out to find her and how had White found where she lived? Max would consider this later, right now she needed to go somewhere. Unforunatly, it wasn't Jam Pony. Guess Logan is going to get what he wanted when he asked for her to call him. An explanation. I guess now would be a good time to find my words, Max thought, slipping around the corner and quietly down the stairwell, or else I am in for a very long day ahead of me. 


	5. An Uneasy Feeling

There were two reasons staring Max in the face why she shouldn't head straight over to Logan's house searching for answers. One: Looking in the side mirror on her motorbike, Max realized this was the last face he wanted to see. Two: The street heading to Logan's house was jammed, meaning she'd be late for the job she was inches from losing. It was difficult facing the realities though, that a seriously crazed bad-guy was hot on her tail and her only salvation came from her ex-boyfriend. But the story was already written, in Max's mind, that once she stepped inside that apartment Logan would have something, inclining Max to go on some dangerous mission which she may or may not return from safely. But if she didn't, what was in store? Would she be the only one in danger? These were chances she couldn't afford to make. But first, she'd warn Alec.  
  
Driving down into Alec's nieghborhood was like visiting Mr. Rogers in the ghetto. His pimped out penthouse was far classier than her grubby flat and on a less gang infested street. She'd only need two chains to secure her bike from thieves. Max came up to the door and rang the doorbell, figuring he wouldn't be by Jam Pony until an hour after he's scheduled. After three rings, Max was getting nervous, realizing she was standing out in the open, where all could see. Even those pesky sky cams. Max slid to the side and jumped beside the stairs. Finally, some cover. Sneaking into the alley, Max placed her hands against the adjoining wall two feet behind her and her feet up against the wall facing her. Quickly she climbed to the fifth floor by swinging her body up swiftly and grabbing the window ledge. Hoisting herself in, Max checked the hallway. Empty, besides a few grocery bags by a door five apartments ahead of her. Seconds later, a woman came out and picked up the rest but failed to notice the girl who had just climbed the wall and hugged herself to the ceiling. After a loud slam, Max got down and rang Alec's buzzer once more. This time there was an answer.   
  
"Who is it?!" Alec hollered from inside, sounding alittle drunk. Max huffed, reminded herself why she came and asked for him to open the door seductively, to throw off any listeners. The door opened nearly immediatly.   
  
"Alec-" Max spoke up and snuck inside, shutting herself inside his apartment, shaking off the uneasy feeling that had been eating at her for the past hour.   
  
"Whats wrong?" Alec answered, sensing something was up and deciding to be grown-up about it. Max appreciated his choice. Arguments were not on the menu right now.   
  
"White dropped my flat a visit this morning."  
  
"He see you?" His voice dropped low, worried almost. Scary but recently, not so unusual.  
  
"No, Logan dropped me a heads-up." Max informed him, hating the way the name 'Logan' came so easily out of her mouth. But it had to so Alec would not suspect something which just irked her to no end.  
  
"It's about time he did something useful for once." Yesterday's argument was trying to resurface again and Max could not allow it. Giving Alec a fair warning in her glare Max changed the subject as quickly as possible.  
  
"Shut up, I'm trying to warn you. I might not be the only one in trouble here."  
  
"Don't get offensive. I appreciate that you care." Shocker. Big shocker.  
  
"I don't care- I mean, I don't want you to DIE or anything but-"   
  
"It's okay to care for me, Max. I have feelings you know, apart from what you think." The way he said gave Max the impression he actually believed that crackpot idea of his and because of this, Max had to respod the best way she knew how.   
  
"I know you have feelings Alec. Its written in the human genetic code. Without feelings, we'd all be like Normal."  
  
"Sarcasm. How'd I guess?" Alec picked up his cell phone and pulled eagerly at his hair. An anger manager for him when he wasn't thinking the world was his putty. Gave his hair a funny look though but very cute.   
  
"Let's just get out of here. I need you to come with me somewhere." Max was almost ready to take his hand and drag him out if she didn't think he'd flip her onto his couch and wrestle her real good. Or maybe she just wanted that.   
  
"Where?" If Alec were closer she would have smacked that smart alec look off his face. Unforunatly, he wasn't. Not like she wanted him closer, except in reality, she kind of did. Max wasn't scared of anything. Just Alec.  
  
"Logan's." Max finished and rushed out the door, sensing Alec trail her out. Repeatedly, Max held her breath and tried yoga mind tricks to tempt Alec out of her brain. If his cologne wasn't so thick though, it could have worked. It was a threatening feeling, not being in control. But God, did she love it. 


	6. Surprise, Surprise

Max and Alec arrived at Logans' earyie apartment building without being in any car chases, giving Max a feeling of safeness- for now. Alec only had to remind her once to keep her license plate hidden for the ride up, in case Ames had that information too. So Max had Alec sit backwards and cover it with his legs, only uncovering it when they reached a sector check-point so the cops  
  
didn't think they were doing anything illegal. It was hard to focus on keeping  
  
incognito when she had Alec's back pressed against hers, heading to a place she  
  
had hoped she'd never have to see again. Holding back a groan, Max exhaled  
  
slowly as more disturbing thoughts ran through her head. Who else was on  
  
Ames' checklist? She had to admit that today, Logan was her only hope of  
  
alluding death once more.   
  
"Are you going to ring the buzzer?" Alec said as Max heads jolted up from the  
  
name written underneath the doorbell. 'Mr. Oale' it said, Logans pathetic writing  
  
serving as yet another salvation to him. Max grinned to herself, wide-eyed and  
  
hit the buzzer. She'd really have to curb the conversation from last night around  
  
Alec, realizing suddenly that he wasn't supposed to know they had split. A few  
  
flirts, a few smiles and Logan would be confused and Alec none the wiser.  
  
Perfect. Click, swing, Logan grins.  
  
"By the way, thanks for the warning." Max's opening line as she came in through  
  
the doorway, patting Logan's back. Logan turned around, a hint of hurt in his  
  
eyes. Max dodged all the glances to get to the point, "I need to know how you  
  
knew," Alec took a stand beside her, jump-starting her heart. "and if you know  
  
anything more."  
  
"I put taps on a drunk special agent's cell phone last night at a bar in Sector 8.  
  
White contacted him later on and the two rendezvoused in the alley outside  
  
some strip place two miles away. I followed them and over-heard a conversation concerning the whereabouts of an X-5, upper east side. Eavesdropped alittle more and heard your address in code. By then it was 7 a.m. and I tried calling you but-" He certainly took no time getting to the point, and tried doing it without any personal vengeance in the way. Max could appreciate it even more so than he knew, as she realized dealing with last night would be alittle more than she could bear.  
  
"Sorry. I was listening to a CD really loud."   
  
"Yeah? Which one?" Logan interrupted, immediately sensing her lie. Alec was  
  
alittle clueless, as she could see in the corner of her eye and was ready to just  
  
bust with ambivalence any moment.  
  
"Ya know, the old Nsync one, 'Bye Bye Bye'." Now Alec really had a lost  
  
expression upon his face, perhaps because Max didn't even own a CD player.  
  
Max wanted to attack him with kisses just for looking at her like that. All that  
  
would suffice right now was an 'accidental' brush up against his arm, getting  
  
Logans attention nearly at once.  
  
"Hey, what the heck are you guys on? We could be in danger and your  
  
discussing your favorite CD's?" Alec added gruffly and looked at Logan who was  
  
still giving Max 'the jealous eye of the ex-boyfriend', "Now do you have anymore  
  
help for us, besides annoying 21rst century pop culture?"   
  
"Yeah. Give me a minute." Max took a look around the apartment for some  
  
things she might have left behind. A brush of hers was in the bathroom. Picking  
  
it up and then feeling a shiver down her spine, she shot a glance into the mirror.   
  
"Looking for something?" said Alec as he entered the bathroom and shut the  
  
door behind him, leaving it open just a crack.   
  
"No, found something though." She held up the hairbrush and dimly smiled at  
  
him. What she really wanted was to place that smile upon his lips, to feel his  
  
warmth envelope her body. By the lusty look in his eyes, Max got something of  
  
an impression Alec didn't just get the two of them in here so he could talk to her. Max walked nearer; Alec walked nearer. If they were going to kiss, it would  
  
happen now or never.   
  
"Was it lost?" he asked her in reply to her slight excursion of relentlessly  
  
smooching him. Speaking was sexy but silence was golden. The two were up  
  
against one another, Alec towering just about 10 inches over her. Max grabbed  
  
the back of his neck and gently tugged it towards her.   
  
"Yes." Heaven hit like lightening upon the moment their lips met. It had been all  
  
she wanted and didn't know. It was more than just what she expected and by  
  
the way Alec's face lit up when they released, she could tell he felt the same.   
  
"Max? Alec?" Logan called from inside the computer room. Technically speaking, Logan calling her name at that moment, it really blew her circuits. So, leaving Alec inside the bathroom for him to leave moments later, Max came by the door and leaned against it like nothing had happened at all. But remembering she was still supposed to be Logan's girl, pretended to act weird and guilty when Alec came in.   
  
"Okay, so I think I've got another lead. One of Ames cronies is headed for a  
  
house near the outer sections of Seattle. You know any siblings of yours that  
  
could be living there?" Max's mind took a second to reload all that information  
  
and quickly made her shudder when she realized that when she electrocuted  
  
Zach and he lost his memory, Logan had given him a new identity and sent him  
  
out near there to live as a farm hand.   
  
"Oh God, Logan, their after Zach." Alec's eyes fell upon Max without her noticing, only by Logan's glare did she catch him. She turned towards him, "We have to go help him. He doesn't even remember any of Manticore. His mind has been entirely erased." Alec blinked, remembering all about 'brother Zach' who had been madly in love with her. Max could tell by his expression that a 'no way' was about to pop out of his mouth.   
  
"Wait, wait...how are you going to help him? If you remind him all about  
  
Manticore, he'll come after and try to kill me again. Or is that a part of that whole ordeal you just forgot?"   
  
"I won't tell him about Manticore. I'll lie. Anything to save him." She looked back to Alec with determination, "I'm going, with or without your help."   
  
"Fine," Alec grumbled, "but your paying." Max smiled and leaned over Logans'  
  
shoulder for the address.   
  
"Max, don't get into any trouble." Logan forewarned her. Max smiled at him for a moment, recognizing that once again he still did not trust her.  
  
"Trouble? Me? Please..." In typical Max style, she shot Logan a wink and a smile  
  
then left the apartment, swearing inwardly never to step back in this place ever  
  
again. Alec was coming up beside her, right where she wanted him to be.  
  
Without even having to feel any resistance, Max grabbed Alec's hand in the  
  
elevator and pulled him closer. "Thanks." she whispered, beckoning his lips  
  
closer with a smile. He leaned to the curves of her neck and whispered back  
  
most sexily, "Welcome."  
  
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Disclaimer: I do not own DA, their characters or the rights to the show.   
  
So how was that for the moment I am sure you have been waiting for? Everyone  
  
kept asking me when they were going to finally kiss. When Max would make her  
  
move (or Alec). And how about the plot twist? Now big brother Zacky is back!  
  
Will he mix things up as usual? Will Max purposely have him kill Logan? LOL! I  
  
am obviously not a big Max and Logan shipper but sorry, don't expect that! I  
  
have only 20some reviews? C'mon guys, we can do better than that! Tell me  
  
exactly what you think or else I may not find the energy to write more! Thanks  
  
so much for reading this far and check out some of my other stories as well if  
  
you get the chance. "12"and"Begginings are great if you love Max/ Alec stories.  
  
C-ya! 


	7. Is It Hot In Here?

Max revved the Ninja's engines twice for Alec to hop on so they could get going. They had waited for nights cover to start the rescue mission, totally against Max's wishes. Alec really had to use persuasion to keep Max down on that bar stool and off of the streets for at least three hours. His persuasion was called conversation, something Max was hypnotized into thinking would be fun now.  
  
"I don't need to tell you I feel bad about being so rude to you," Alec said, out of the blue and immediatly catching Max's attention. She always knew that Alec wasn't one for apologies and hearing one now sure did it for her right now, being that she was alittle nervous about something. "You know." Nervous wasn't something Max could handle well without some push-ups to keep her head on straight. Matter of fact, she probably could get some bets on how many she could do and pick up some cash for the mission.  
  
"Its alright," Max said, rubbing the palms of her hands between the ins of her thighs, itching the heat off her body.   
  
"And I guess I should apologize about, uh, the kiss." Alec admitted and scratched the back of his ear, "I don't really know what came over me." This served pretty well as a way out. A way out of admitting what made her so darn nervous. A way out of saying Logan and her were through. And, and...."I mean, except for your beauty."  
  
"What?" Max spoke up, not hearing what he had mumbled due to an elevated amount of extreme lust rushing through her veins. What the heck was so wrong with her senses? He wasn't that hot and his muscles weren't that sculped. And his butt wasn't that perfect, nor his smile that intoxicating. Alec gave a small smirk. 'Oh Godddddddd....'  
  
"You want another brew, Maxie?" He said, giving her the old Alec 'I'm lying through my teeth' look. Max had to throw it aside and took the offer gladly.   
  
"Thanks, I will." Max smiled at the bartender, flirtingly, "Oh hey, I am sooo thirsty. Give a girl a freebie, just once?" The drink she ordered last time was being filled up as she spoke. Pulling off one dazzling smile, Max got up from her seat, Alec following. Although the bar was full of gross, stinky drunks she could still smell Alec's cologne. Before realizing it, she had become just like another one of those drunks, only not so stinky.   
  
"We should get going," Max insisted, eyeing widely Alec's dimpled grin. Quickly she wanted to know what was so funny. "What?" His hand raised up to her face; her heart pounded. Wiping the top of her lip, Max felt around her wet lips.   
  
"Mustaches aren't my thing." Alec quipped as he headed up the stairs where the Ninja awaited them. Not to mention three hours of the two of them sitting closer than Max could handle. Keep the objective in mind which was....."Let's get going, we'll need to be there before dawn.".........what again?  
  
Getting on, Max was again wrestling her emotions for Alec, figuring how she could hide the fact Logan and her were not an item any longer when it was so obvious she was falling for him. Sickly, Max realized Alec had already caught on to that last fact by how he was holding on to her waist, unlike any time before, he was aiming just a hair higher. A drunken smile passed over her lips, a lick of her tongue wetting down her thirst. But then it hit her. 'When was the last time I went into heat?' Max gulped down hard, 'Oh crap!!!' Alec wasn't falling in love with her, could he? And she wasn't falling in love with him, could she? Was all this the workings of what Manticore had created? And if it is, how was she going to stave off two male X-5's once her heat hits hard when she can barely keep herself off him right now?   
  
"Whoa! Your going 100 mph!" Alec hollered at Max as she sped through the open road.  
  
"Yeah, guess your right." Max said and took it down five, "that better?"  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Didn't I mention things were going to be getting pretty thick? How will Max get through this one? Lets see by pressin that lil purple button! You know you wanna! 


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